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Mar 14, 2008

(Matthew Santoni, Examiner) - A preservation advocacy group named an old Bel Air school as one of Maryland’s “most endangered” historic sites, but the 125-year-old building may still get a reprieve from the bulldozer. Continued

9
comments:

While I understand the need to preserve history, I am against saving this building. The people in favor of preserving this building state it is "near" a neighboring elementary school and needs to be saved to preserve local history. My children go to the elmentary school. It's not "near" it. This building is on it's school campus. It is filled with asbestos and had to be treated for a rat infestation which did impact our current school building. My children do not need this building. What they need is a safer place to come into school as well as fields for recess and gym. They currently have to play kickball on sidewalks. If I believed there was a useful purpose for this building, I would fight for it. However, when the Proctor House (across the street) sits in it's current disgraceful state and appears to be completely abandoned by the people who "saved" it, why should I conclude anything better would happen to this building. It will sit for years to come having no useful purpose....while my kids pay the price. Please demolish it as soon as possible....I doubt the students who once learned there would wish the building be saved over the safety and happiness of our children.

The Proctor House building & property were relinquished by the Board of Education back to the county. Harford County currently owns it, and they have had it for over five years. They were supposed to fund the restoration of it when they requested it be saved.

We had a meeting tonight w/ the Board of Ed. A compromise was reached pending the fact that the county will do what they are offering to do...I'm sure details will come out. We got the best we could hope for (for now) while avoiding a court battle. It wasn't everything we wanted, but the Board of Ed added language to protect our kids should the county not follow through...we'll see if they keep their word. We will not back down if they don't.

Protection from asbestos, rats & lead... The building backs to portable classrooms and the current playground. I have spoken to engineers who have indicated if the property is further vandalized or any part of the structure falls (as certain sections are unstable), the asbestos will blanket our current school campus. If this unfortunate possibility were to occur, the county will be facing lawsuits that pale in comparison to the money needed to demolish it or renovate it safely.

As far as the pavement part, we are the only public elementary school in the county without reasonable green space for the kids for recess and gym class. We are only asking to be given what others in the county already have now. The city school which backs to my office building has more grass than Bel Air Elementary (which is supposed to be in the suburbs)...that's pathetic!

There is no useful purpose for this building...nobody is going to tour it. Nobody is going to even drive by it. It has no potential to become anything useful for our school community or the county...it's truly not worth saving. Especially when the county has shown (ie Proctor House) that historical buildings will simply sit and rot... They have already shown what their word is worth and where their intentions lie. It's going to take far more tax payer money to restore the building than to safely demolish it.

We can't save EVERY old building in Bel Air, or we will never move forward. We are making history every day...why cling to the past in a building that nobody wants to save & renovate (privately funded). If any building in this state was worth saving...it was Memorial Stadium. Yet, that has come down. What's so important about this building? Who wants it, and are they willing to commit their money (not my tax money) to renovate it? They care so little that they didn't come to the meeting to offer their opinion...

So an active preservation effort would satisfy 3 of your 4 demands: abatement of lead, asbestos, and rats - failing only to provide more green spaces to the town (not suburb) school? Would that be an acceptable compromise?

On the other hand; wouldn't turning the school over to a private developer (heck, why not give it away, or charge a nominal fee?), on condition that the exterior be preserved, be a good compromise for the historical purist?

I'm thinking specifically of some of the old buildings I've seen preserved in York, PA. Like the apartment/condos up the hill from the MA&PA station and the offices across the creek from Ohio Blenders.

Falmanac is now wondering what little boys would shoot with their BB guns if there where no rats? Do little boys still get BB guns?

Private development was proposed....nobody wanted to take it on due to the costs of the renovation & the fact they are far more than any ecenomical benefit that building could provide while co-existing with an elementary school. The Town of Bel Air has already acquired/preserved plenty of buildings. Have you been down Gordon Street? It's a small, narrow street & this building is COMPLETELY blocked from view by the current Historical Society building if you are on Main Street. Why is it so important to preserve? You can't preserve every old building everywhere...

Well, considering that you are posting on a blog dedicated to history, preservation, and architectural diversity, I'd say you're gonna have a hard time convincing me. But a little documentation could help your case. "I have spoken to engineers," isn't very convincing at all. Are you saying Bel Air is over preserved? Can you back that up with facts? What percentage of historic Bel Air has been preserved? How does that stack up against similar towns? How have towns (like York, PA and Elkton, MD), attracted private enterprises to renovate old buildings? What were the incentives, the payoffs, the downsides? Give me something with footnotes and sound reasoning instead of Mrs. Lovejoy's incessant "Think of the children!" and perhaps you'll win me over. Otherwise, forget it.